Chapter 3

Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement. Sorry I'm not keeping up with the dates in the story...but I'm close.

December 27th

She woke up cold, shivering under the golden duvet still wearing the long hooded robe. Her boots were beside the bed. The nearby clock read 3:47 a.m. She continued to shiver, nearly uncontrollably. Throwing off the duvet and removing the robe she went to the bathroom and took a long, hot bath and dressed in another pair of yoga pants and two long sleeve t-shirts left over from Rangeman days. Her boots were wet, so she found socks and called her feet covered.

The living room was dark; the fireplace glowed with red embers. She added more split wood to the fire box and opened the vents as Tank had shown her. The new wood caught fire, she sat and watched the flames. Tears tricked down her face, she didn't understand what happened. Was it a dream; reaction to Christmas Eve and Day? A brother who died? Would her life have been any different if she had a younger brother? Other than a playmate, no her mother would have insisted she be more like Valerie. None of the dreams had a loving mother. There was no love from Helen Plum. Hugs were for Valerie along with words of praise. Stephanie received instruction, correction. Surely her mother loved her enough to correct her. A proper Berg woman, that was what her mother wanted her to become.

Tank appeared quietly just after 5 a.m. "You got the fire going, good. You are up early, couldn't sleep?"

"Not well."

"I'll get breakfast."

"Just toast and coffee for me, please, I'm still not hungry," she called after him. Food was the last thing on her mind.

Tank paused, "You haven't eaten for several days, do you feel OK?"

She didn't tell Tank why she hadn't slept well. Rising she scrubbed her face with her hands to wipe away tear residue and followed him into the kitchen to watch how to set up the coffee maker.

The coffee bag read Café Bustelo. It brewed a richer somewhat foreign coffee. "Cuban style coffee, obviously you know where I picked up the habit," he said with a smile.

"You have any sugar for the coffee?" The coffee was different, stronger, bolder than her usual brew.

He shook his head no trying to avoid looking at her red puffy eyes. "Nothing sweet in the house, not even jelly. Ric and I are a lot alike in that regard. I never had sugar growing up, never developed a taste. He has it occasionally at his parents' house with family dessert."

She put down her mug and walked to the sink and splashed water on her face, wiping it off with paper towels. "I promise no more tears. I know it upsets you. We women don't internalize, we get it out. I'll try harder to keep it together."

"I shouldn't have said anything last night, you were fragile. I haven't been around women much in my life. You are my….role model."

She snorted, "Lucky you."

As she nibbled on her toast and Tank ate a full meal, he cleared his throat. "I dumped a lot on you yesterday. I lost my temper, I'm sorry. I really don't know how to treat you. Please stay here, use this place to think and decompress like I use it. To give you privacy, I'm leaving for a few days. If you totally reject staying here, I will return you to Trenton now where you have no apartment, no car, no clothes, no Joe, no family and no Rangeman. I don't know about your job at Macy's."

She put down her toast, it wasn't sitting well.

"If you stay behind, you will be on your own for three or four days before I return. The wood stove supplements the house furnace. Even if you let the fire go out, the house should remain around 63 degrees. There is a laundry room, your clothing selection is limited, you'll be washing them often. If you run out, feel free to wear mine, though they will be too big. The nearest food source is a café over an hour away when the road is clear, you don't have a car especially a 4 wheel drive. The kitchen is stocked, maybe not with cereals, pizza, ice cream or alcohol, but you will not starve. You will have to cook if you want to eat. I've left a list of meals you can prepare and a cookbook to go with a stocked freezer and refrigerator. "

She had a panicked look.

He chuckled, "You thought I'd leave you with MREs? Trust me eating those will bind you up faster than Quik-Set cement. There are emergency dried soups for when the power goes out and you have to cook at the fireplace.

While I'm away I will purchase what personal items you need; Clothing, shoes, hair care, ladies' products. Here's a tablet and pen, write down what you will need."

"What if I forget something?"

"Don't, it's a long, long way to Macy's or CVS. You might be here several months."

"So I have two choices: Go back to nothing or stay for months and do what?"

"Work on yourself. What do you want to do, to be? Where do you want to be? How will you get there? You are undisciplined, stubborn, and lazy. I said before and I'm repeating it now, I am willing to work with you to overcome these….problems. I've helped others and others have helped me." He stopped and smiled, "There's always the other option, the one I took, Ric, Lester, Manny, Hal and Ram also took; that's only the short list."

"The Army?" Her eyes opened wide showing the beautiful blue that so captivated Ranger.

"Not just the Army, Ram was a Navy SEAL. There are other services; with your love of the ocean you might like the Navy or Coast Guard. You are still young enough, but not for much longer. You'd have a roof over your head most of the time," he smiled. "You are fed, clothed and trained while receiving a…stipend. As a college graduate, you might qualify for OCS, officer's candidate school, but you lack the discipline unless you are a star recruit in basic training. It would get you away from Trenton and allow you to start over and grow."

She sat dumbfounded. Did she want to return to Trenton? It was her home; but now felt like nothing more than her birthplace. Did she want to go into the military? Surely not combat, though she has been in plenty of bad situations, even using lethal force. There were other jobs and more opening every day. She shook her head, "One step at a time, Stephanie." Right now she did not want to go back to Trenton. That would be her first step.

She handed her shopping list to Tank. He looked….surprised and maybe relieved, "So you are not coming back with me."

"No, I need to get myself together."

"Good. When you begin to get stir crazy, go downstairs, ride the bike, run on the treadmill, but be careful outside. The beach isn't all sand and calm like Point Pleasant."

She pointed to her feet, "No shoes, only snow boots."

"Make sure your shoe size is on the list, if there's a brand that fits better, put it down." He walked up to her and lifted her to her feet and hugged her, "You can do this Baby Girl."

"Tank, were you serious about the military?"

"I was. You are a scrapper. You'd make a hell of an MP," he said laughing. "Nearly every man on base would wear their cups just knowing you were around."

For the first time, she laughed. "Yeah, I could see myself doing that. It's something to think about. Maybe move into investigative services when my knee gave out. By the way, I never knew you could talk more than five words at a time."

"I can't."

00000000

It was a long drive back to a paved road and nearly six hours back to Trenton. Stephanie had cleared the first hurdle, she didn't run. He wanted to talk to Bobby, fill him in on what was happening. If Stephanie stayed, he'd need extended leave to be with her. He shook his head, could she really survive in the military? He'd do his best to prepare her if that's the route she wants to take.

When he got to Newark he put his phone back together and chuckled at all the missed calls. His favorite was from Bobby, "You are missing a real show here in town. Stop by the office when you can." He noticed the message was only a few hours old, but decided to spend the rest of the day gathering supplies. He'd be in the office tomorrow.

000000

Joe waited for Stephanie to call or come home. Instead his phone messages were from Helen Plum demanding answers, why hadn't Stephanie called her. By Noon on the 27th he knew he'd have to make more of an effort to find her.

When he walked into TPDs lobby several officers were giving him strange looks. Eddie Gazarra, Stephanie's cousin walked up to Joe, "You SOB" and took a swing. The hit was perfect, knocking Joe on his ass.

"What the hell?" Joe gasped as he rubbed his jaw. Nobody went to help Joe to his feet or restrain Eddie. Several looked like they'd like their own shot at Joe's face…or lower.

"You were fucking Terry Gilman on Christmas Eve while your fiancé's apartment burned to the ground. Did Terry have her mob-boss uncle burn Stephanie's apartment to get rid of her?"

"How the hell…" Joe jumped to his feet.

Eddie flipped his cell phone around and showed Joe the photo of him and Terry in their amorous clutch out front of Joe's house. The caption below read, "Look who filled Terry's stocking Christmas Eve while Stephanie's apt. burned." The snow on Joe's truck and Terry's car clearly showed they had been in place through the snow storm early Christmas morning. "Your neighbor snapped the photo and sent it around the Berg asking who the woman was since it didn't look like Stephanie. Somebody else added the caption."

Now the Burg gossip line was burning bright. It didn't matter the apartment fire cause was a space heater on the first floor, that wasn't as titillating as front yard adultery, arson, and a missing fiancée.

00000000

Stephanie cleaned up the kitchen after Tank left, poured the rest of the coffee into a jar and set it in the refrigerator to be reheated later. The next activity was to explore Tank's house inch by inch. It was impolite but she was confused, who is this Tank and why does have this multi-million dollar mansion in the middle of nowhere? There were six bedrooms, 2 large like hers with baths and four bedrooms with a bathroom between two rooms. The house décor was simple, creams and golds, wood floors and high ceilings. The furnishings were good woods and leathers. The basement or lower level held Tank's gym he eluded to containing nearly all the equipment the Rangeman gym contained including a mat. The laundry facility was bright and airy, unlike the dark dungeon in her former apartment building. There were two sets of washers and dryers. Yes, he wore big sizes but did he need two washers at a time? The biggest surprise was an art studio with a glass wall leading to a private deck overlooking the ocean and the forest. The room smelled of oil paint…Tank was an artist! She walked over to the easel and examined a painting in progress. Though early in the painting's development she saw his sketch lines for a landscape, winter scene showing the snowy forest contrasted against the ocean. Her mind flashed back to the paintings in her bedroom. Where those his?

She found no TV in any room, but did find several very cleverly disguised speakers and suspected he had a home network but she had no way to access it without her phone. Not only would she go through sugar withdrawal, she was going through electronics withdrawal! Perhaps he knew of her upcoming melt-downs and left before he was caught in cacophony.

Another surprise was the library/study/office. The book collection was impressive, several hundred books. An e-reader sat on the desk with several hundred books downloaded, but no access to the internet for more downloads. The books both paper and electric ranged from fiction to history, literature in several foreign languages. Did Tank speak French, Spanish and Russian? There were also psychology and modern self help books. She wondered if the later were added for her, but when would he have bought them? How would he know….no, maybe they were for him.

Once she had toured the inside, she put on her boots and taking one of Tank's jackets which was way too large, to walk around outside. The snow was only six inches keep, not excessive. The back deck was roomy, easily accommodating a crowd. A niche turned out to be an outdoor kitchen, wrapped and insulated for winter. She wondered if he ever entertained. Stairs led down to a large flat area, there was probably a lawn underneath the snow. A well-defined path lead down to the beach and water. She walked around the grey house admiring the architecture, large windows which captured the lovely views whether the ocean or the woods. A separate grey building turned out to be a 4 car garage and work shop, perhaps with an apartment upstairs. Tire tracks through the snow showed Tank's bringing her here and his exit this morning. A very large wood pile for the fireplace held several cords of wood, some held split wood; other were yet to be split.

The front drive disappeared into the woods. Walking down the road for twenty minutes she couldn't see or hear an intersecting road; Tank did say they were isolated. She had no idea where she was, probably north of Trenton. If she knew her trees identifying them might help with her location, but she was clueless. The monster called her stomach roared for the first time since she arrived. Walking around back, she grabbed an armload of split wood for the fireplace before entering the house. Out of habit, she locked the door behind her. While she doubted people were around, she didn't need a moose walking in.

Prominently displayed on the kitchen counter was a beginner's book from Betty Crocker. As she flipped through the pages she sighed. Tank indicated which items she should start with and included where in the kitchen the items could be found. She found the potatoes in….the potato drawer. Was that common? Reading the cookbook instructions she first turned on the oven. Step one complete. After scrubbing and pricking the four spuds she put them into the oven. Ninety minutes later she had baked potatoes and real butter for her first home cooked meal. Who thought Tank would have real butter in the house? There was no cheese or milk, but then she did remember pretty much only those with European/Scandinavian genes could consume milk products especially as adults. While Lula could down a milkshake she knew other darker skinned friends from school who could not. She found an apple for dessert. Two apples in one week, must be a record. Ranger would be proud…damn, that started her eyes leaking.

Returning to the library she found a book, "How to Unf**k your Life and Retain your Sanity." (A/N hopefully not a real title). Yep this was a book for her and she went back upstairs to the living room and the fireplace. She found the yellow paper tablet Tank had given her for a shopping list and set with the book to read and take notes.

Hours later, the sky was darkening. She lowered the shades, stoked the fire and went in search of an evening meal. Tonight she'd settle for a left over cold potato, an orange and a handful of carrots; at least she'd get her vitamins A and C. Tomorrow she would figure out how to cook eggs.

After cranking down the stove for the night following Tank's instructions, she took her book and went to bed to read.

00000000

She entered the bedroom to find her grandpa was sitting on the dressing chair, "Hi Curls, put on your robe, we'll take another trip."

Was she asleep? Had she already come to bed and this was another dream?

"Grandpa, I'm not sure I'm ready for another trip like the last one. My pillow was soaked from the tears."

"This one will be important. Actually they all are important. Get your robe, you looked ridiculous in the big man's jacket, and let's get going."

She froze for a moment, "Grandpa, how did you know about me wearing Tank's jacket."

He waved his hands back and forth, "I never studied astrophysics so I can't explain it and I know you wouldn't understand if I could."

"Space time continuum?"

"No. Diesel can explain it."

Stephanie groaned, "You know Diesel?"

"We've met, he used to pop in for dinner when he was younger. Now hurry up, we have many places to visit."

"How young was Diesel when he "popped" in?"

"About 7 or 8. He loved Edna's coffee cake, she put cardamom in it, now come on we have a lot to do."

"Grandma Mazur misses you," she said as she bundled up. "Was she always so….sexual?"

He laughed, "Why do you think I died early! Edna was something! You know I died in bed, don't you? Those little blue pills had an unexpected side effect, but of all the ways to go, that was the best. Edna has never forgiven me though; she scolds me every time she comes to the cemetery…..when nobody can hear her."

"Mama isn't….. that way," Stephane said.

"Guess it jumps a generation Curls," he winked. "I miss Edna. She had…and still has such a spark, but she gossips too much. It's a nasty habit that the Burg can't break. I told her over and over it was bad for her soul but she said it was entertainment, it wouldn't hurt anyone."

"That's not true."

"No Curls, you've been terribly hurt by those wagging tongues. She knows she hurts you but now it's a very bad habit and she can't stop."

Stephanie fell asleep in Big Blue, again. When she woke up she and her grandfather were at a wedding, her wedding to Dickie Orr. As they stood in the side aisle invisible to all Stephanie said, "Grandpa, the only thing we had in common was he wanted to be a bigshot attorney and my mother wanted me to be married to a big shot attorney."

"Look at your face, Curls, you were already doubting the union. Look at your mother, she's so proud."

"Grandma looks sad."

"She knew it wouldn't last, but never thought it would be completely over in six months."

Stephanie looked at Dickie remembering he wanted a wife who in bed was a contortionist with no inhibitions. She was reluctant to his urgings before the marriage and still reluctant after. He found his able and willing partner with Joyce Barnhardt on the dining room table. Helen blamed her daughter.

00000000

The next scene Stephanie watched herself blackmailing her cousin Vincent Plum into a job. "That took a set, Curls," grandpa said proudly.

"He wanted me to do low level bonds, I needed more money like Joe Morelli. I wish I had listened to him."

She watched herself crawl into the dumpster looking for the car keys Joe threw in to keep her from following him. The scene moved quickly to the café with Carlos Manoso, dressed in camo, hair tied behind his head, listening to her tell him she wanted to be a bounty hunter. Final scene, she was handcuffed naked to the shower rod by Joe Morelli and Ranger rescued her.

"He was a gentleman; he could have had his way with you right then and there."

00000000

The next scene is the bridge over the Delaware River. Stephanie is hanging by her ankles from the bridge. Ranger was crawling out to get her when the rope broke. He didn't hesitate to dive in after her. What she saw for the first time was the fear in his eyes. Fear for her.

00000000

The scene changed to Ranger rushing down the road in his Mercedes, "Don't let it be Babe, please God don't let it be Babe." He arrived to find his beloved 911 Porsche flattened and burned by an overturned garbage truck. Relief flooded him when he saw her standing with Lula, safe.

"How many of his cars have you totaled, Curls?"

"They weren't my fault."

"There you go, diffusing the blame with that lame excuse you've used it all your life when in reality the fault is your inattention or poor judgements."

"How was I to prevent the garbage truck falling on the car?"

"By backing up and giving the large vehicle the right of way."

"How was I to prevent being hung from the bridge?"

"You put yourself in a vulnerable position, allowing your back up, worthless Lula, to wander away. You worked a dangerous job but you refused to take your own safety seriously. Where was your training? You refused because you are lazy Curls, lazy and obstinate."

"You sound like Joe."

"He was right."

00000000

The scene changed to Stephanie standing in the middle of the street as yet another car burned to a crisp. Joe Morelli was standing yelling, waving his arms, the blood vessel in his forehead throbbing. Train wreck, incompetent, dangerous, my stomach, my antacids, never once did he ask if SHE was hurt. He actually sounded like her mother! Ranger appeared and wrapped his arms around her, "Are you hurt?"

Bobby appeared and examined her, "You should go to the hospital, to relieve HIS mind."

"I don't have insurance."

"He pays your bills."

Stephanie began to count up exactly what Ranger had paid for over the years.

Grandpa Mazur cut in, "He pays them to keep you solvent. If you had to pay them, you couldn't. You don't make enough money. He doesn't tell you because he loves you."

00000000

The lobby of a senior center is not an ideal location for a takedown, but a man intent on killing Stephanie had chased her into the building and she was putting an end the chase. After rolling on the floor and swearing, her on-target knee found his sensitive side, ending the wrestling match. As she stood up and brushed the hair out of her face, Ranger gave his tiny smile, "Proud of you Babe."

00000000

Next scene is dark. She is bound and shoved into an impossibly small area. She feels her body cramp again remembering the incident. Ranger is in an office pacing, pushing a little old lady to review property records. Ranger enters Stiva's house and she falls from the cabinet into Ranger's arms. Briefly that same panic look she just saw at the Delaware Bridge fills his eyes. He thought she was dead.

00000000

The scene fades and reforms to Atlantic City, she is inching across a narrow ledge, jumping down and then being boosted up and over a parking garage wall by a crazed Russian killer. The boost it too much and she fell to the ground. Before she could gain her feet, Ranger is there, fighting and eventually throwing the killer back over the wall to the ground below. Briefly Ranger's eyes flash with concern for her wellbeing.

How often had she caused the Man in Black, Batman, to fear for her life? The concern is quickly slammed down under his granite stare but tonight she "hears" his heart beat race madly. She also looks at the men with Ranger; their emotions are less hidden. These big scary men are concerned about her! She has never seen these looks from members of her own family. These men cared for her more than her parents'.

00000000

Ranger is sitting in the chair beside her bed, watching her sleep. He's either going on a mission or coming home. He's anxious, running his hands through his hair, but as he watches her sleep, he calms down, leans back and tents his fingers over his chest. His equilibrium reached, he gets up, kisses her head and leaves.

00000000

Ranger walks into her St. James street apartment with his hands raised, his daughter Julie sitting across from me, apparently still drugged into unconsciousness. Ranger accepts he may die but must do this to save his daughter…and her. The kidnapper fires twice, blood sprays and Ranger falls.

"He loves you Curls."

"I love him but…"

"But he wouldn't commit. He's told you why, but you are so….obstinate. " Grandpa was getting upset. "Look, maybe now you'll understand…"

Five coffins are on biers; three are adult size, the other two are smaller. Flowers adorn the area. Mourners ware leaving the burial site, the service is over, but five military men remain behind, at attention. One wears the name badge Manoso. A taller, somewhat older man stands next to Ranger, "He swore he'd kill all of us and our families. I thought I had them protected back here in the States, with her parents; after all her father was a policeman. That bastard crawled out of that dark hell hole and found them; killed everyone slowly and painfully. They were my life, Captain Manoso, they got me through missions, something to live for, to come home to. Now they are gone. I killed them every bit as much as he did." The grieving man used all his military training to hold together. "Never fall in love, Manoso. Spare them the pain, spare yourself this pain. What we do, the hardship and pain we endure is nothing compared to this. Never fall in love."

Ranger whispers, "Yes sir."

"Curls, that murderer is still living and still hunting. That is why he tried to keep you at arm's length, but he couldn't. So he sent you out with guardians, wanted you to learn self-defense, carry a weapon. But no, you refused to listen or understand. Maybe if you knew all, you would have run from him, he didn't want to lose what little he had of you. So he's stayed in Trenton instead of moving around for protection, just to stay near you and protect you either by himself or with his company. That's love baby. It doesn't get more intense than that."

"Grandpa what am I to do?"

"That's why we are here, sweetie, it's time you make up your own mind. You have YOUR life to live, not your mother's. Your destiny is not with that Ebadta kölyke! (SOB). You will find respect and eventual love. Actions and consequences sweetie, you must learn your actions have consequences. Luck doesn't come into it, or bad karma, it's all on you."

00000000

Stephanie wept softly and didn't realize her grandfather has taken her to another place. Joe has a woman bent over the kitchen table hiding the salami. A car door out front is heard closing. Bob barks. "Shit, she's back early."

The woman grabs her clothes, shoes and purse and scoots out the back door, naked. Joe quickly closes his pants. The door opens and Bob streaks out, does his duty and returns. By then Joe has his shirt fully buttoned. Stephanie comes in, "Who's car is out front?"

"Don't know, must be visiting someone else."

"Did you recognize that Curls?"

"Yeah, it was last month. I thought the swelling in his pants was he was excited to see me. Damn, just like Dickie. I hope that wasn't Joyce on the table."

"It wasn't."

00000000

The scene changes to Rangeman basement, Hector's office. Ranger is looking over Hector's shoulder watching a video. "Nunca le muestres estas imágenes." (Never show her these pictures.)

"Él es un hombre puta." (He's a man-whore.)

"Ella debe descubrir eso ella misma." (She must discover that herself) Ranger said as he walked away.

Stephanie stared, "Why didn't he…."

"You would have accused him of manipulating you. Your dignity would have misfired and you'd be mad at him, not Joe. Your spidey sense told you he was a cheater but you never listened to it. You let your mother brow beat you into believing you loved Joe. You and Joe were friends and you enjoyed the sex, but you never were IN love with him nor was he in love with you. He's possessive, jealous someone else wanted you.

Have you put it together yet Curls? Anthony Franco, Helen's son who died and Anthony Morelli, her expected son in law. Yours and Joe's male children would be Helen and Frank's missing son.

What if I had daughters?

Grandpa didn't answer.

00000000

The scene was Rangeman: Lester, Hector, Hal, Bobby, Vince, Cal, and Manny, huddled around the Break Room table, "We've got to find her, help her," Lester said.

Vince sat back, "Why, she made her choice, a domestic, a wife. She never really wanted our life. She wanted Ranger's bed."

Lester responded with anger, "I disagree. When she was on a case, really working the case, she was like a dog with a bone. At the computer doing searches she'd take her way through the case, frustrated but when she found something, her eyes sparkled brighter than her love of Boston cremes. None was better at searches and backgrounds. How many cases did she give us the needed solution when we were at a dead end. But she needed physical activity and to be involved in cases."

Vince rolled his eyes, "Sex and sugar. Also she whined like a bad alternator belt."

"Listen to the way the way women speak in the Burg, they must teach it in school," Hal said

Bobby decided to add his two cents, "If she were to develop skills and get a healthy diet, she'd be…scary."

"What do you mean scary?" Hal asked.

She's been shot, knifed, burned, beaten, buried, dropped into the river and keeps coming back. If she had confidence and skills…"

"….and common sense," Vince added

Bobby looked annoyed, "If she had confidence, skills, discipline and common sense, I would gladly work with her."

"You'd just want her bed," Vince added.

Bobby moved at lightning speed, putting Vince on the ground in a choke hold, "No, some of us can separate our testicles from our brains, a**hole."

Hector had his gutting knife out as well, but realized Bobby had the situation under control.

Manny spoke, "What if we did convince her to come back and she starts man-hunting again here, it would destroy discipline."

"Bull spit," Cal jumped in. "How many gays do we have on staff? Has that ruined discipline? Men and women work together, even in the military, remember? We actually need a woman working here. There are situations that are…too delicate for a man to handle."

"She's O-3, she's probably off men anyway," Vince said rubbing his throat.

"She is our hermana," Hector said. "We treat her like family, sister. Anybody here hurts her, they answer to me."

Stephanie was dizzy from all the scene changes, "Oh, Grandpa Mazur, I miss them."

"They always wanted you to get better, let them train you so you could work alongside of them as an equal. They saw your potential."

Taking her hand, "Curls, there's one more place I'd like to take you tonight, it will be difficult. Are you ready?"

She nodded.

00000000

The giant rubber raft held six men, all in dark green camouflage, faces painted green and black, helmets, back packs and weapons. They were deep in a jungle, the foliage over hung the water. The boat slowed and the men exited onto the shore. Ranger was in the lead. They stopped and gathered around Ranger. "We'll move now for 2 hours, then rest. When we get to the compound,we kill, confirm kill or else he will finishing coming after all of us. He killed Major Andrew's family and the major, Stevenson and his girlfriend, Murphy, Jackson and damn near killed Tank. He'll continue to pick us off unless we end it tonight. He's fucked with our heads for too long."

Ranger was by himself, is head down in his hands, "Merry Christmas Babe. I hoped I'd be the one for you when I cleared my life. This is the one who kept me from you. This mission he dies or I do. I regret it took this long."